Grand Ole Opry 2/14 & 2/15

Friday is Valentine's Day and in honor of the day, the Grand Ole Opry will have a special show. From the press release: 

The Grand Ole Opry is celebrating Valentine’s Day this year with a special show honoring country music’s most iconic pairings with “It Takes Two: Opry 100 Celebrates Country Duos,” featuring The War And Treaty. 

The War And Treaty curated the special show, which takes place Feb. 14, the same day as the release of their new album, Plus One. Among the country duos set to perform on the show, which will honor legendary country pairings such as Johnny and June, George and Tammy, Dolly and Porter, Loretta and Conway and more, are John Carter and Ana Cristina Cash, Jon Randall and Jessi Alexander, LoCash, Neon Union, Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White, plus the trio The Band Perry, and more.

The Opry offered a similar show last year which included a lot of add-ons, and it went over very well. So it's back. 

Now turning to Saturday night, Grand Ole Opry members Mark Wills, Riders In The Sky, John Conlee and the legendary Jeannie Seely are all on the schedule. 

Tigirlily Gold is back for another appearance, along with Dalton Dover, Angie K and making their Opry debut, TopHouse. 

Friday February 14
7:00: The War and Treaty, John Carter & Ana Christina Cash, Ricky Skaggs & Sharon White, The Band Perry
Intermission
8:20: Neon Union, Jon Randall & Jessi Alexander, LOCASH

Saturday February 15
7:00: Opry Square Dancers, Mark Wills, Angie K, Dalton Dover, John Conlee
Intermission
8:20: Jeannie Seely, TopHouse, Opry Square Dancers, Tigirlily Gold, Riders In The Sky

TopHouse was created in 2015 by two Montana music majors, guitarist/songwriter Jesse Davis and violinist William Cook before adding Joseph Larson (lead singer and guitar/banjo player,) and Andy LaFave (piano) in 2017 and 2022 respectively. After being vaulted to local fame in their birthplace of Missoula, with the Missoulian naming TopHouse one of the top 5 best new bands (two years in a row we might add), the band moved to Nashville, TN in October of 2019. TopHouse quickly set to work attaining a local residency as well as getting music played on Nashville’s premier new-music radio station Lightning 100. With some viral social media moments, a healthy dose of touring, consistent time in the studio, and a diet of Little Caesars and Red Bull, TopHouse has continued to grow to the point of selling out venues in cities they've never even heard of. When they aren’t touring the U.S. they can be found around Nashville TN, trying not to die in traffic and/or throwing the occasional round of disc golf. The band’s releases include Middle of Somewhere, Hopes & Fears, Snapshot, The Irish EP, and Campfire Stories. The band is currently releasing new music, with their latest singles "Better is the End" and "Be Nobody" having their biggest first weeks to date (knock on wood).

The Grand Ole Opry has been around for 100 years. Many forget the early days of the Opry and many of the artists that appeared on those early shows have been largely forgotten. In February 1947, the Grand Ole Opry was only in its 22nd year of existence. Going back 78 years, here is the running order from February 15, 1947: 

8:00: Purina
Eddy Arnold: Just Because 
Oklahoma Wranglers: Farther And Farther Apart
Rod Brasfield: Jokes
Uncle Dave Macon and Dorris: Bill Bailey
Eddy Arnold: Mother The Queen Of My Heart
Jamup and Honey: Jokes
Zeke Clements: Am I Too Late
Lonzo and Oscar: Green Back Dollar
Crook Brothers: Sally Goodin
Eddy Arnold: What Is Life Without Love

8:30: Warren Paint & Color Co. 
Paul Howard: I Can't Go On This Way
Lew Childre: Alabamy Bound
Bill Monroe: Blue Moon Of Kentucky
Milton Estes: Good Old Mountain Dew
Clyde Moody: Shenandoah Waltz
Lew and String Beans: The Martins And The Coys
Jimmy Selph: Writing You Darling Through Tears
Possum Hunters: Stoney Point
Robert Lunn: Robert Lunn Blues
Jimmy Walker: No One Will Ever Know
Bill Monroe: True Life Blues

9:00: Royal Crown
Golden West Cowboys: Steel Guitar Rag
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Leather Britches
Cowboy Copas: Divorce Me C.O.D.
Texas Ruby: Dear Old Southern Home
Johnny and Jack: This World Can't Stand Long
Bradley Kincaid: Old Smokey
Annie Lou and Danny: Ragtime Cowboy Joe
Cowboy Copas: Tragic Romance
York Brothers: Rainbow At Midnight
Shorty Boyd: Flower Of Texas

9:30: Prince Albert
Red Foley: Tennessee Central No. 9
Oak Ridge Quartet: I'm In His Care
Duke of Paducah: Jokes
Curly Fox: Whoa Mule Whoa
Red Foley: Old Shep
Grandpa Jones: Gathering Flowers From The Hillside
Minnie Pearl: Jokes
Old Timers Quartet: Oh, You Beautiful Doll
Red Foley: One Step More
Breakdown: Skip To My Lou

10:00: Wall-Rite
Chubby: Fire On The Mountain
Lester and Bill: No One Will Take You From Me
Quartet: Shining Path
Marie and Clyde: Railroad Boomer
Bill Monroe: Little Joe

10:15: Weatherhouse
Paul Howard: With Tears In My Eyes
Uncle Dave Macon and Dorris: In The Sweet Bye And Bye
Clyde Moody: Leaf Of Love
Possum Hunters: Miss Sally
Zeke Clements: I'll Face The World With A Smile

10:30: Cherokee Mills
Texas Ruby: Foggy River
Bradley Kincaid: Swapping Song
Lazy Jim Day: To Be Selected
York Brothers: A Love That Faded Too Soon
Curly Fox: Black Mountain Rag

10:45: Southern Agriculture
Milton Estes: There's A Big Rock In The Road
Lew and Stringbean: John Henry
Johnny and Jack: Too Be Selected
Crook Brothers: Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Milton Estes: Say You'll Be Mine

11:00: Eddy Arnold Songbook
Eddy Arnold: Chained To A Memory
Lily Belle: A Face I See At Evening
Lonzo and Oscar: Jole Blonde
Eddy Arnold: So Sure There's No Mistake

11:15: Ernest Tubb Songbook
Ernest Tubb: Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right
Dot and Smokey: Columbus Stockade Blues
Jimmy and Leon: You Gotta Pay The Fiddler
Ernest Tubb: Fort Worth Jail

11:30: Saf-Kill
Golden West Cowboys: Kentucky Waltz
Oklahoma Wranglers: El Rancho Grande
Gully Jumpers: Breakdown In D
Kirk McGee: Golden River
Golden West Cowboys: Nashville Blues

11:45: Michigan Bulb
Wally Fowler: Plowing In The New Ground
Jimmy Walker: Tear Stains On My Letter
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Rabbit Where Is My Mammy
Andrews Brothers: Mother's Only Sleeping
Wally Fowler: I Got Faith
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Dixie-Home Sweet Home

As mentioned, more than a few Opry members that have been forgotten were on the show that night. 

More recently, on February 15, 2013, future Grand Ole Opry member Chris Janson made his Opry debut. 

Here is the posted lineup from that Friday night: 

7:30: John Conlee (host): Chris Janson, Jean Shepard, Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press
8:00: Jeannie Seely (host): George Hamilton IV, Josh Turner
8:15: Craig Morgan (host): Jim Ed Brown, Riders In The Sky
8:45: Ricky Skaggs (host): The Whites, The Black Lillies

On the original schedule posted on the Opry website, there was a Sunday Night Opry listed. That show has been cancelled. 

There you have it for this week. As always, thanks for reading and commenting and I hope everyone enjoys the Grand Ole Opry this weekend.